Netanyahu blames Iran for Mideast rancor
Israeli Prime Minister took aim at Iran, saying it’s responsible for “darkness” by building an anti-Israel empire.
WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took aim at Iran on Tuesday, saying the Islamic Republic is responsible for “darkness descending” on the Middle East by building an anti-Israel empire.
“Darkness is descending on our region,” Netanyahu told the annual pro-Israel AIPAC policy conference, blaming the “radical tyranny” in Iran for a litany of malevolent acts in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen and of continuing to seek Israel’s destruction.
“We must stop Iran, we will stop Iran,” he said.
Netanyahu renewed his attack on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, saying it had made the world more dangerous. And, he praised President Donald Trump for threatening to withdraw from the accord if it isn’t toughened.
He recalled that he had warned the Obama administration, which negotiated the deal under which Iran received billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program, that the agreement would not make Iran a more responsible member of the international community.
Instead, he said that, as he predicted, the sanctions relief had made Iran “more extreme and belligerent.”
Netanyahu’s comments came a day after he met Trump at the White House and thanked him for his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv.
“It is especially great to be in America’s capital now that (Trump) has recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital,” he said. “Thank you, President Trump for that historic decision.”
The step has infuriated the Palestinians, who claim part of Jerusalem for the capital of an eventual state and have now rejected U.S. mediation in efforts to resume stalled peace talks with Israel.
A senior Palestinian official Tuesday objected to Trump’s suggestion that the Palestinians have walked away from peace negotiations, saying U.S. policies in favor of Israel have pushed the Palestinians away from any future process.
Mohammed Ishtayeh, a top adviser to President Mahmoud Abbas, said a series of U.S. steps have harmed the climate ahead of an expected peace proposal by the White House.
“When President Trump says the Palestinians are running away from the negotiating table, which negotiating table?” Ishtayeh told foreign journalists. “Since he came to power, there have been no negotiations whatsoever.”
Ishtayeh criticized the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the U.S. cuts in funding to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees and restrictions on the Palestinian diplomatic office in Washington.
“If you are really preparing something as an honest broker, why is it that you are taking measures against one of the parties in favor of the other party?” he asked.
Trump has said his team is working on a peace proposal, but it has remained a mystery and there is no timetable for it to be presented.
Netanyahu said he was willing to work with Abbas to end the conflict but demanded that he first stop paying stipends to the families of Palestinians killed or jailed for committing antiIsrael acts.
“I have a message for President Abbas: Stop paying terrorists,” he said.